CA Tule Elk (Pics)

My good hunting partner (Fred) drew the most coveted elk tag in the Golden State.....an Owens Valley Archery Tule Elk tag. Tule Elk are the smallest specie of elk. They are unique living in the desert valley floor below the Eastern Sierras. The P&Y minimum for Tule Elk is 225" which tells you how much smaller in antler structure they are.

After getting this tag, Fred took a few trips into the area beginning in July to scout. He also took the entire week before the hunt off to pattern the elk during the rut (which is now). He saw this bull, which he really liked, knowing it would score well. He was hoping to meet up with him again once the season opened.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/BOHNTR/FredsTuleElklive.jpg" alt="" />

Opening morning (last Saturday), he encountered this P&Y caliber bull but he decided to pass, electing to shoot it with his camera instead.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/BOHNTR/TuleElk.jpg" alt="" />

Later that day, with 15 minutes of light remaining, the bull he wanted came within range and Fred was able to seal the deal with this very nice bull. His inside spread is over 40' and his green score is 268" net.......and that's with some broken points. Congrats to ol' Fred.....he did good! Hope you enjoy.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/BOHNTR/FredsTuleElk.jpg" alt="" />
11,130
killerbee
thats great, congrats to the hunter! :thumb
those tule elk are pretty interesting, and would be awsome to be able to hunt.
thanks for sharing
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dahlmer
Great bull. I'm curious if there is a significant difference in the body size of the Tule elk vs. Rocky Mountain elk. They look to still be a big animal.
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Default Avatar
Those are some awesome pics! Sounds like it was a blast. Congrats to the hunter and thanks for sharing!
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BIG R
There is a size difference.A muture bull will go around 450lbs.Roy its nice to see theres still some good bulls down there.I see some old burn is he in the Aberdeen area? :thumb
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BOHNTR
He arrowed this one near Independence.....towards the river.
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TheGreatwhitehunter
=D> congrats on a rare and hard to get Tule Elk =D>
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MuleyMadness
Pretty cool Stuff, thanks Roy and congrats to Fred. That's awesome, glad to see a bull harvested this year. :thumb
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hound_hunter
No experience with those, awesome to see - thanks for sharing!
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Default Avatar
Awesome!
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MULIES4EVER
that is a sweet Tule buddy! Good to see you are still producing outstanding results.
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Hiker
Wow! Rare tag for sure. Monster Bull! Congrats to you and your friend.
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AGCHAWK
VERY COOL!!! I tried to draw the Tule bull tag at Ft Hunter-Liggett when I was stationed down there. Never was successful. I used to love to go down there and check them out from time to time.
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Default Avatar
congrats to your buddy. i especially liked the way you worded this part, "he came into range." ;)
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BOHNTR
i especially liked the way you worded this part, "he came into range." ;)
 Yeah, Fred likes them close too.....38 yards created a pretty good opportunity for him. :)
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oakbrush
Congrats to Fred. Awesome.

i grew up in SoCal and used to head up to the eastern sierras to fish when i was a kid. Caught all the sierra species in a one week trip. Anyway, I remember stopping to look at the elk. It was cool. At the time, I think they were the first elk I saw in the wild.

I have a couple friends that still live down there and they have drawn tags and each have gotten to hunt those bulls. Way cool.

oakbrush.
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Tonoonyi
That is a great Tule bull. Love the pictures.
10sign:
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